Edmonton city Councillor Mike Nickel sees three competing policy interests at City Hall that are on a collision course — which will mean fewer soccer fields, ball diamonds and play grounds in city fields. He’s got an inquiry that he’ll launch at Tuesday’s city council meeting to straighten everything out.
Nickel said city administration is working on unintentionally conflicting plans for the city’s flood prevention program, its First Place housing program, and the city’s open space master parks plan.
He told reporters the plan to find spaces to store rain water during intense storms brought this conflict to light. “The flood maps were just the start. Now we need an actual strategy to bring these three policies into alignment.”
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Nickel’s southeast Edmonton ward is losing three fields because of flood mitigation.
“This isn’t just going to be a ward 11 problem, this is going to be a city problem.”
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Nickel is confident if the supervisors of the three programs compare notes, they’ll be able to install flood mitigation where it’s needed and still find replacement space for sports fields, and also have room for trails, trees, benches and green space to create wanted parks. “If you talk to the end users of these products, they’re going to say we need more not less.”
The ward 11 councillor said there are solutions to be found.
“You’ve got to start with the inventory,” Nickel said. “Then you’ve got to prioritize what’s going to be put in and what’s not going to go in. You’ve got to make choices.”
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Nickel said part of the thinking could be an answer to an inquiry made by Coun. Bryan Anderson late last year on the use of artificial turf for sports fields. Anderson said that putting in crushed road gravel and weeping tile as a base for $2 million, then the surface artificial turf on top of that for $1 million, could save enough over 10 to 12 years that when it comes time to have to replace the surface turf, the cost savings will more than pay for the replacement.
“The savings on increased revenue from increased users, and a lack of painting lines and fertilizing and watering and so on and so forth, does that allow us every twelve years to replace the top on saved money?” Anderson said about the calculations that were based on the final year of grass use, and the first year of artificial turf.
“It’s a matter of how much money can we save? And does that drive more use?”
Council will get a report in June with the findings on Anderson’s questions. The artificial turf at Clarke Stadium prompted his inquiry.
“The numbers were kind of staggering. Five-hundred and fifty per cent increase in users. Three hundred and fifty per cent reduction in operating costs. Those kinds of numbers.”
Artificial turf can be found in Commonwealth Stadium, Clarke Park, Foote Field, Henry Singer, Mill Woods, John Bright, as well as two locations in Parkland County, one in St. Albert, one in Sherwood Park. Two artificial turf parks are being designed for Terwillegar in Leger, and one in Londonderry near Lezert.
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